Starscream had never been that interested in Earth celebrations; in fact, he had always found them rather mundane, primitive and misguided affairs.
From what he had read, all human celebrations were based in traditions long since outgrown and mostly rooted in outlandish and unimaginative cults. Now they were expressed through either materialistic desire, usually for worthless trinkets or the consuming of food universally acknowledged to be unhealthy for the human body (as far as Starscream could tell, this made the whole experience doubly exciting for the humans involved), or by dressing up in bizarre outfits: red and white suits, bed-sheets with eye-holes.
In short, it was largely absurd, and Starscream could see no purpose to them whatsoever.
However, some of the holidays were entertaining enough to Starscream that their ridiculousness was outweighed by their amusement. For example, the celebration that occurred each earth year around the beginning of the period of time the humans called "July", were really quite pretty for a primitive display of pyrotechnics. Similarly, the swathes of bright, multicoloured lights that seemed to adorn everything around the nadia of the earth year were also quite appealing. They almost reminded him of the lights of Cybertron, especially when combined with the ice and snow that gave the Earth a distinctly crystalline appearance at night.
Then there was the holiday that came up just before the cycle of earth life began again in conjunction with the lengthening of the days in the Northern Hemisphere, the one around the middle of the month called February. Like all Earth holidays he could never remember the name of it, but he knew a few details about the day in general. From what he had read and observed, it was a day to celebrate love and the one you were in love with - and like all Earth holidays, it was celebrated with the exchange of gifts and treats.
However, Starscream couldn't help but feel something while watching humans take pleasure in dedicating a whole day to their loved one. Not for the humans, of course, he could care less about them. What he felt was a pang of longing for his own mate, Dreadmoon, all the way back on Cybertron, whom he only got to see whenever he had time off, which was not often. Every day he got to spend with Dreadmoon was a holiday in itself. Other than Skywarp and Thundercracker, Starscream had no real friends. So, it felt wonderful that he had someone who genuinely loved him, and whom he loved back.
Watching the humans in their interactions on this particular day had stirred in Starscream a desire to spend a day performing the gestures of that holiday with Dreadmoon.
His research told him that the main components of the holiday were a gift in a box wrapped in paper, a soak in a hot tub surrounded by lit candles, and making love on a bed covered with rose petals.
Starscream thought carefully about how he might adapt this holiday to suit his own purposes, to be compatible with Cybertronian culture. He drew up a plan detailing his improvements: First of all, he would need to substitute the rose petals for Cybertron-made imitations, since Dreadmoon would surely recoil at anything that came from Earth, and he did not want to waste time and energy raiding flower fields gathering enough petals to cover Dreadmoon's berth, which would number amongst the thousands, if not millions. As for the gift, he already had in mind what he would give Dreadmoon. The candles would require some work on the other hand.
Nonetheless, the day itself would be worth the work.
* * *
Kalis' sensors scanned the city, keeping a close watch for a particular energy signature. Officially, the Monitor's shift had ended some time ago, but he had stayed in commune so he could keep watch for his guest.
After a while, he detected the signature he sought; a deeply familiar presence, and a spark linked to his own.
Dreadmoon disconnected from the cables and languidly made his way to the sitting room, finding a couch and settling down to wait for Starscream. The Seeker had said that he had a special surprise in store for the Monitor, and Dreadmoon could not help but wonder what it was.
Before long, the silver Seeker entered the room and greeted his bondmate with a friendly, "Hello, love,"
The Seeker was carrying a large, rectangular, container that was about twice as wide as wide as his chest, meaning that Starscream had to carry it with his arms curled under the bottom of it. Dreadmoon's curiosity grew at the sight of the container, wondering just what Starscream had in store.
Starscream stopped when he reached the couch, and carefully placed the box onto a nearby table. His optics met Dreadmoon's, and he smiled.
"I have a present for you, my love," Starscream lifted the lid off the container, reached into it, and pulled out a cube-shaped object. Starscream sat on the couch next to Dreadmoon, and held out the cube to him.
The Monitor examined it curiously, narrowing his optics at it. Very peculiar, he thought.
The box was not that big, only about half the width and height of Starscream's chest. But its size was not what made the box so strange. What Dreadmoon found odd was that it was covered in some sort of thin, lustrous blue wrapping.
Dreadmoon looked at Starscream. "What is in this box, Starscream?"
The Seeker stretched his arms out further, bringing the package closer to his bondmate. "Open it up and find out," he said slyly.
The Monitor looked at the wrapped box again, and finally took it from Starscream, the wrapping making crinkling noises under his fingers. From the texture, Dreadmoon could tell that the wrapping was made of thin, yet somewhat firm, plastic. He set the package down on his lap and pointed a finger at it, near the middle. A needle slid out of the digit, cut into the wrapping, and cleanly sliced the wrapping into two neat halves. Withdrawing the fingertip needle, Dreadmoon carefully lifted the top half of the wrapping off the package, and set it down next to him on the couch.
Dreadmoon stared at the now exposed lid of the metal box, and then up at Starscream, who looked back with anticipation. The Monitor looked back down and carefully lifted the lid off of the box and set it down next to the wrapping. He peered down into the open package and blinked in question.
From the top, it looked like a helmet. But it couldn't possibly be for him, as it was slightly smaller than his head, and Transformers almost never changed their helmet design, any more than they changed their alternate mode. That left only one other possibility as to what Starscream's gift was.
Dreadmoon lowered his hands into the box, and slowly lifted the object up. He found himself looking into the blank, dead optics of a severed head, grey with death, wires dangling uselessly from the bottom of the neck.
The Monitor looked at Starscream and smiled. "This is really quite thoughtful," He recognized the head as belonging to a Petitioner who had been bothering him the most lately.
"I knew you'd love it," Starscream slid closer to Dreadmoon and gave him a small kiss on his pale cheek. The Monitor's optics dimmed blissfully at the contact.
Dreadmoon's optics again fell on the large container.
"May I inquire as to what else is in that storage unit? It is rather doubtful that it was only meant to store this one item."
Starscream grinned mischievously. "Why don't you put that... present somewhere nice and meet me at the hot tub, to find out."
The Seeker stood up, put the gift's box and paper into the larger box, replaced the lid, picked it up and headed off to another room.
Still not quite sure what to make of Starscream's behavior, it took a few minutes before Dreadmoon actually stood up and went to his quarters to place the head on his desk. At some point, he would purchase a display case for it, so that it would not take up space elsewhere.
With that, he made his way down to the room where the hot tub resided.
* * *
Starscream reached into the container and pulled out his candles, setting them around the edges of the in-the-ground hot tub and lighting them with a tiny torch he had brought.
The candles had not been too difficult to acquire. He had broken into a wax processing factory and gathered as much wax as he thought he would need, and then used several metal tubes with wide circumferences for molds, as well as containers, once the wax was melted down. For the wicks, he had stolen several meters of rope from a harbor. He had made sure that the wax had smelled of plastic, a scent that was pleasurable to Cybertronians.
Once everything was set up, the Seeker placed himself in the tub, sat down, and waited for his mate.
* * *
The first thing Dreadmoon noticed upon entering the room was the aroma of plastic. The lights were dimmed and the room was mostly lit by tiny beacons of flame that sat atop what appeared to be small metal cylinders.
What Dreadmoon was most interested in however, was the silver jet sitting luxuriously in the churning liquids of the tub.
Starscream smirked beckoningly and raised his hand to flex a finger in the universal "come here" gesture.
The Monitor, hypnotized by the Seeker's expression and signal, obediently moved forward and lowered himself into the hot tub, the liquids swirling around his waist. He waded to Starscream and sat down beside him, snuggling up close and wrapping an arm around the Seeker's shoulders. Starscream leaned into Dreadmoon's embrace, resting his head on the Monitor's shoulder.
In the darkness, the firelight reflected off Starscream's silver armor, casting him in an alluring glow and making him look even more beautiful. Running his thumb along the Seeker's shoulder, the Monitor whispered, "My beautiful silver prince, my radiant star, my Starscream,"
Starscream smiled up at him and reached up to cup his mate's face in his hand, stroking his cheek. Dreadmoon leaned into the touch, pulling Starscream closer, and then leaned in to cleanly catch the Seeker's lips in his own.
Starscream returned the kiss, his hand sliding down to trace the Monitor's jaw line. Dreadmoon used his free arm to caress his bondmate's wing. The Seeker groaned into his mate's mouth at the gentle touch.
The Seeker's hand trailed down the Monitor's neck, to his chest. His hand came to rest on the armor over Dreadmoon's spark chamber. He could feel the spark's warmth underneath the blue metal, and his desire to connect with that spark suddenly flared. Starscream fought the urge to go into bondmode right there in the hot tub, Not yet. Just wait a little longer.
They held lips for a few minutes longer before breaking the kiss. Running his hand over the smooth metal of Starscream's body, Dreadmoon whispered, "You are beautiful, Starscream, my silver prince..."
Starscream smiled up at him, savoring the feeling of his mate's caresses. "Glad you can appreciate it, love," He leaned into Dreadmoon a little more. "Now then, why don't we just cuddle for a while? The best is yet to come."
The Monitor smiled. "As you wish, beloved." Dreadmoon stilled his hands and held Starscream close, falling silent, simply enjoying his bondmate's presence.
They sat there for a long while, losing all track of time, content to just embrace each other, the only sound being the swirling liquid.
After what felt like forever, Starscream finally broke the silence. "Well now, much as I am loath to leave you, I should really go and prepare the final part of the evening." The Seeker pulled himself from Dreadmoon's arms and stood up, droplets of liquid running off his armour plating mesmerisingly.
Dreadmoon slightly mourned the loss of Starscream's body in his arms, but the feeling was overridden by interest in what Starscream had in mind to top off the day's events. He leaned back as Starscream turned the lights back on, extinguished the fires, and placed the cylinders back inside his large box.
The Seeker took the box and said, "Meet me in your quarters in a little while," with that, Starscream left.
The Monitor waited a few astroseconds before emerging and standing still long enough for the liquids to dry off. Figuring that he had waited long enough for whatever Starscream was planning, Dreadmoon exited the room and headed to his quarters.
* * *
Starscream set his box down beside Dreadmoon's berth, opened it, and pulled out a large bag.
After opening the bag, the Seeker reached in and pulled out a handful of fake rose petals. He sprinkled the petals onto the berth until there was almost no trace of the metal surface beneath the sea of pale pink.
The petals were the one thing Starscream had not made himself. Two weeks in advance, he had anonymously commissioned an artist who specialized in plastics to do it for him.
While they looked close to the real thing, the Seeker had specifically made sure that they did not look too organic.
Upon hearing footsteps approaching down the hall, Starscream packed up the bag, set the box aside, and moved to the center of the room to wait for his bondmate.
* * *
Dreadmoon entered his quarters, finding Starscream once again waiting for him. He glanced around the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
He saw his desk, just the same except for the Petitioner head sitting on it. There was nothing on the walls, or hanging from the ceiling. The Monitor looked at Starscream, and the Seeker, sensing his inquiry, tilted his head towards the berth. Dreadmoon obediently glanced in that direction and narrowed his optics.
The recharge berth was littered with little, thin, circular, red strips of what appeared to be very soft plastic. It seemed a bit odd to Dreadmoon, but then again, everything Starscream had done tonight has been odd, from the boxed gift with the wrapping, to the candlelight hot tub, and now these decorations on the berth.
Starscream took Dreadmoon by the arm and led him to the berth. Now that the Monitor was closer to it, he could see that the plastic strips had a bit of a sparkle to them, and looked as though they were made of fibers bound tightly together. Dreadmoon reached down and touched one of them, finding it very soft and almost delicate. He had to admit, now that he saw them up close, they did add a sort of romantic effect to the berth.
The Seeker nudged Dreadmoon's arm. "Go on," he coaxed, "lay down."
Dreadmoon hesitated for a second, unsure if he would enjoy lying on the strips or not, but then slowly sat down on the berth and lay down. If felt strange laying on them at first, but Dreadmoon soon got used to them, and even begun to notice that they felt quite nice against his back.
The Monitor smiled and looked up at Starscream, tapping his hand on the berth, beckoning to the jet. The Seeker smiled back and climbed onto the berth, settling himself on his mate's body.
Starscream leaned down and captured Dreadmoon's lips in his own. The Monitor kissed back instantly, relishing in the feeling brought on by their caressing lips. Dreadmoon wrapped one arm around Starscream's back, and placed the other on his waist possessively. Starscream laid a hand on Dreadmoon's shoulder, and used the other hand to caress the Monitor's helmet, prompting Dreadmoon to gasp pleasurably into his mate's mouth.
Starscream ran his glossa across Dreadmoon's lips, and gently forced the Monitor's lips apart to kiss him deeply. Dreadmoon stroked Starscream's back and waist, digging his fingers into armor seams. The Seeker moaned in response to the caresses, though the sound was partially muffled by his mate's mouth.
Starscream leaned his leg against Dreadmoon's and activated his thruster on low power, sending warm air across the blue armor, scattering some petals, and receiving a stifled groan from the Monitor.
After several moments of deep kissing, Starscream withdrew his glossa and broke the kiss. The shuttle and the jet stared at each other hungrily. Eventually, Starscream gasped, "Take me… take me now…"
Wasting no time on words, Dreadmoon reached his spark out to Starscream's, clutching his mate tightly. The Seeker, in turn, made contact with the Monitor's spark, sinking deeply into bondmode. Before losing coherency, the last thing Starscream registered was moaning Dreadmoon's name in response to the Monitor gasping Starscream's.
* * *
Awareness began to flow into the Seeker, and for a minute, all he was conscious of was a warm and soothing presence around him.
When he finally came around fully, he found himself lying side by side with Dreadmoon, wrapped tightly in his mate's arms, with the large, curved wings surrounding him. The Seeker tucked his head under the Monitor's chin and settled in to wait for the other mech to come to.
Starscream did not have long to wait, for he soon felt Dreadmoon awaken. The silver jet drew back just slightly, so he could look at his mate's face. "Well, was today a success?"
Dreadmoon smiled. "Of course," he sighed contently. "It was somewhat unusual, but nonetheless... enjoyable."
"Good," Starscream paused for a second, before asking. "How would you like to make it annual?"
The Monitor fell silent, considering it. "I'd like that."
Starscream smiled and snuggled closer into Dreadmoon's embrace, infinitely pleased that his plan had worked. Of course, there was no need to tell his mate what had given him the ideas in the first place. If Dreadmoon asked sooner or later, he would lie. It was what habitual liars did best after all.
The End